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Efficacy of a Target-Matching Foot-Stepping Exercise on Proprioception and Function in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis.  Fall 2008

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy of high, repetitive, target-matching foot-stepping exercise (TMFSE) performed in a sitting position on proprioception, functional score, and walking velocity for patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA).

CONCLUSION: TMFSE in sitting appears to be an option for exercise in patients with mild to moderate knee OA. This may be an especially attractive option for patients who may have pain with weight-bearing exercises. A longitudinal study with a larger sample size is needed to confirm the potential use of TMFSE for patients with knee OA.

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Effects of Low-Level Laser Therapy and Eccentric Exercises in the Treatment of Recreational Athletes With Chronic Achilles Tendinopathy  Summer 2008

BACKGROUND: Eccentric exercises (EEs) are recommended for the treatment of Achilles tendinopathy, but the clinical effect from EE has a slow onset. Hypothesis: The addition of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) to EE may cause more rapid clinical improvement.

CONCLUSION: Low-level laser therapy, with the parameters used in this study, accelerates clinical recovery from chronic Achilles tendinopathy when added to an EE regimen. For the LLLT group, the results at 4 weeks were similar to the placebo LLLT group results after 12 weeks.

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Early Motion for Achilles Tendon Ruptures: Is Surgery Important?  Spring 2008

Background: Comparisons of surgically and nonsurgically treated Achilles tendon ruptures have demonstrated that those treated with surgery allow earlier motion and tend to show superior results. However, early motion enhances tendon healing with or without surgery and may be the important factor in optimizing outcomes in patients with Achilles tendon rupture.

Conclusion: This study supports early motion as an acceptable form of rehabilitation in both surgically and nonsurgically treated patients with comparable functional results and a low rerupture rate. There appears to be no difference between the 2 groups, suggesting that controlled early motion is the important part of treatment of ruptured Achilles tendon.

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Adherence to physiotherapy clinical guideline acute ankle injury and determinants of adherence: a cohort study.  Spring 2008

Background: Clinical guidelines are considered important instruments to improve quality in health care. In physiotherapy, insight in adherence to guidelines is limited. Knowledge of adherence is important to identify barriers and to enhance implementation. Purpose of this study is to investigate the ability to adherence to recommendations of the guideline Acute ankle injury, and to identify patient characteristics that determine adherence to the guideline.

Conclusion: Adherence to the clinical guideline Acute ankle sprain showed that the guideline is applicable in daily practice. Adherence to the guideline, even in a group of physiotherapists familiar with the guideline, showed possibilities for improvement. The necessity to exceed the expected number of treatment sessions may be explained by co-morbidity and recurrent sprains. It is not clear why female patients were treated with more sessions. Experience of the physiotherapist reduced the number of treatment sessions. Quality indicators may be used for audit and feedback as part of the implementation strategy.

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The effect of a 4-week comprehensive rehabilitation program on postural control and lower extremity function in individuals with chronic ankle instability  Fall 2007
Objective: Prospective, randomized controlled trial to examine the effects of a 4-week rehabilitation program for chronic ankle instability (CAI) on postural control and lower extremity function.
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Plantar fascia-specific stretching exercise improves outcomes in patients with chronic plantar fasciitis.  Summer 2007
A Prospective Clinical Trial with Two-Year Follow-Up. In a previous investigation, 82 patients with chronic proximal plantar fasciitis for a duration of more than 10 months completed a randomized, prospective clinical trial. The patients received instructions for either a plantar fascia-stretching protocol or an Achilles tendon-stretching protocol and were evaluated after eight weeks. Substantial differences were noted in favor of the group managed with the plantar fascia-stretching program. The goal of this two-year follow-up study was to evaluate the long-term outcomes of the plantar fascia-stretching protocol in patients with chronic plantar fasciitis.
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Acute treatment of inversion ankle sprains: immobilization versus functional treatment.  Spring 2007
Inversion ankle sprains are one of the most common injuries in sports. Although these injuries are often considered minor, they can lead to persistent disability in athletes. This is a systematic review of the literature to evaluate the effect of immobilization versus early functional treatment on time to return to preinjury activity after inversion ankle sprain. Residual subjective instability, recurrent injury, and patient satisfaction were secondary outcomes.
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Do voluntary strength, proprioception, range of motion, or postural sway predict occurrence of lateral ankle sprain?  Winter 2006
Prevention of ankle sprain, the most common sporting injury, is only possible once risk factors have been identified. Voluntary strength, proprioception, postural sway, and range of motion arepossible risk factors. A systematic review was carried out to investigate these possibilities.
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Passive Stretching Does Not Enhance Outcomes in Patients with Plantarflexion Contracture After Cast Immobilization for Ankle Fracture: A Randomized Controlled Trial.  Fall 2005
Objective: To compare the efficacy of short and long duration passive stretches with a control treatment for the management of plantarflexion contracture after cast immobilization for ankle fracture.
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Exercises to Prevent Lower Limb Injuries in Youth Sports: Cluster Randomised Control Trial  Spring 2005
Objective: To investigate the effect of a structured warm-up program designed to reduce the incidence of knee and ankle injuries in young people participating in sports.
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Management of Ankle Sprains: A Randomised Controlled Trial of the Treatment of Inversion Injuries Using an Elastic Support Bandage or an Aircast Ankle Brace   Spring 2005
Objective: To determine the functional outcome of the ankle joint after a moderate or severe inversion injury, comparing standard treatment with an elastic support bandage against an Aircast ankle brace.
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The Effect of a 5-Week Wobble-Board Exercise Intervention on Ability to Discriminate Different Degrees of Ankle Inversion, Barefoot and Wearing Shoes: A Study in Healthy Elderly  Winter 2005
Objective: There is some evidence of an improvement in falls risk in the elderly after completing a wobble-board training program. This study examined the effects of wobble-board training on ability to discriminate between different extents of ankle inversion movements in a group of older subjects, tested wearing shoes and barefoot. (Requires site registration for full text.)
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Rehabilitation of Ligamentous Ankle Injuries: A Review of Recent Studies  Winter 2005
Objective: There are many treatment modalities for ankle rehabilitation. These are reviewed, and the most effective training program for rapid restoration of ankle movement, strength, endurance and proprioception is selected.
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